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Kennedy Calls for Troop Withdrawal in Iraq

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The American military's continued presence in Iraq (news - web sites) is fanning the flames of conflict, and signals the need for a new detailed timeline to bring the troops home, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) said Thursday.

Just three days before the Iraqi people go to the polls to elect a new government, the Massachusetts Democrat said America must give Iraq back to its people rather than continue an occupation that parallels the failed politics of the Vietnam war.

"The U.S. military presence has become part of the problem, not part of the solution," Kennedy said in remarks prepared for delivery at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. "We need a new plan that sets fair and realistic goals for self-government in Iraq, and works with the Iraqi government on a specific timetable for the honorable homecoming of our forces."

While not the first member of Congress to call for a withdrawal of the troops, Kennedy is the first senator to do so. And his remarks continued what has been a long and blistering assault on the administration's Iraq policies.

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